Election Aftermath

[nathanm]

[heironymouspasparagus]

When nearly half the nation voted against Obama and he received about 7 million fewer votes than in 2008, that's not a mandate.  From what I've read about 11 million voters stayed home this time, rather than trying to make less of a poor choice.  His margin of victory dropped from 7.2% in 2008 to 2.9% this year.  Clearly, he's lost some support and the enthusiasm for him has waned.

Yeah, and Romney got 2 million fewer votes than McCain.  It's all playing with numbers, and as long as we are at 50/50, they just don't mean all that much in the overall scheme of things...

[heironymouspasparagus]

Maybe smoke less dope?

Edited to add: Gassy, 2000 was fraud. 2004 was swift boating and the advantage of incumbency.

Swift boating...which means fraud.  Lies about anything and everything related to Kerry's military service.  While glorifying Baby Bush's country club cruise of the same era.

[RecycleMichael]

When nearly half the nation voted against Obama and he received about 7 million fewer votes than in 2008, that's not a mandate.  From what I've read about 11 million voters stayed home this time, rather than trying to make less of a poor choice.  His margin of victory dropped from 7.2% in 2008 to 2.9% this year.  Clearly, he's lost some support and the enthusiasm for him has waned.

That is the only answer? Maybe Romney was a better choice than McCain for independents. Maybe Romney's spending hundreds of millions more than McCain could be an answer. Not having Sarah Palin on the ticket could have had a factor.

Of course, only you would find a way to bash Obama on the election after he won again.

[Gaspar]

Holy crap.  They signed a no-tax pledge for THIS tool?

Wow.  "Poopy-head".  Seriously, Grover?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50134980n

Today in the news, Elmo is a child molester and Grover calls people poopy-head.


Outstanding!

I can't wait for the slap-fight on the floor of the Senate next week!

[Conan71]

Maybe smoke less dope?

In any event, this search should refresh your memory. I also seem to recall a statement from Bush himself that the '04 election had given him political capital that he intended to spend.

Edited to add: Gassy, 2000 was fraud. 2004 was swift boating and the advantage of incumbency.

Broadcast media also took up the "mandate" theme. MSNBC host Chris Matthews announced at the top of his November 3 broadcast, "President Bush wins the majority of the vote and a mandate for his second term." CNN 's Wolf Blitzer (11/3/04) offered his assessment that Bush is "going to say he's got a mandate from the American people, and by all accounts he does." NPR 's Renee Montague (11/3/04) also relayed the White House's spin, before quickly agreeing with it: "The president's people are calling this a mandate. By any definition I think you could call this a mandate." http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2001

Damn, even Chris Matthews said that?  I guess if you consider Bush enjoyed a majority of careless enablers in both houses for the next two years, that would be a mandate of sorts.  I don't consider 51% of the popular vote a mandate by any means.

[Townsend]

Democrats pick up another seat in the House

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/12/democrats-pick-up-another-seat-in-the-house/?cid=sf_twitter

(CNN) - Democrat Kyrsten Sinema has defeated Republican Vernon Parker in the race for Arizona's 9th Congressional District, CNN projected Monday.

Sinema's win in the newly-created district adds one more seat to the list of pick-ups for Democrats in the House, putting the breakdown at 234 Republicans, 196 Democrats and two independents.

Including Sinema's win in Arizona, Democrats have gained a net of three seats in the House this cycle.

Sinema, a former state senator, had 48.1% of the vote compared to Parker, the former mayor of Paradise Valley, at 45.3%, according to the office of Arizona's Secretary of State on Monday.

Both parties had invested heavily in the race, though a Democratic super PAC had tipped the TV ad war balance of power slightly in the Democrat's favor.

Five races remain too close to call from last week's elections, including contests in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and two races in California.

While Democrats have an edge in all five, a sixth unresolved House race will be settled in a December 8 run-off between two Republican incumbents, guaranteeing a GOP seat.

[Conan71]

Holy crap.  They signed a no-tax pledge for THIS tool?

Wow.  "Poopy-head".  Seriously, Grover?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50134980n

You got that wrong.

"Poopyhead" is never hyphenated 

[Conan71]

Yeah, and Romney got 2 million fewer votes than McCain.  It's all playing with numbers, and as long as we are at 50/50, they just don't mean all that much in the overall scheme of things...

About 1.1 million fewer in an election with 11 million less voter participation.  Romney enjoyed a 2% gain in the popular vote over McCain.

Comparing voter turnout between Romney & McCain vs. voter turnout for Obama in 2008 & 2012, Obama lost far more support than the GOP candidate did this election.

[carltonplace]

I don't disagree in the abstract, but by the standard commonly applied by Republicans, it was indeed a resounding victory with a clear mandate. They did, after all, claim a mandate when they lost the popular vote and when they won in 2004 by about the same margin Obama has this year. Both Bush wins also netted him less EVs than either Obama win. You've gotta admit there's something mildly satisfying about stuffing pundits' words back down their smarmy throats and making them choke on them.

In fact President Bush made this statement (which I translate to "in your face BXXXCHES!")

"This week the voters of America set the direction of our nation for the next four years," I earned capital in the political campaign and I intend to spend it."

[Conan71]

That is the only answer? Maybe Romney was a better choice than McCain for independents. Maybe Romney's spending hundreds of millions more than McCain could be an answer. Not having Sarah Palin on the ticket could have had a factor.

Of course, only you would find a way to bash Obama on the election after he won again.

I'm not the only one who would do that.  Guido and Gassy are quite capable as well.

I wasn't trying to bash him though, it's simple math.  It's indisputable that fewer people voted this time around even though there's little doubt that the ranks of eligible voters hasn't shrunk since 2008.  I simply don't see a 2 or 3% margin of victory as a mandate, I don't care who the victor is.

Bashing would be me giving the president's campaign its props in this fashion:  He managed to win without having to run on his record.  He didn't have a great record to run on so he made Romney look like someone to run from.  There, now I've bashed.

[Townsend]

Fla. GOP House Incumbent Allen West Refuses to Concede Defeat



http://swampland.time.com/2012/11/12/fla-gop-house-incumbent-allen-west-refuses-to-concede-defeat/

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) — Firebrand Republican Rep. Allen West was defeated by Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy, according to the state's vote count Saturday, but the incumbent won't concede.

The state issued complete but unofficial results showing Murphy with a lead of 2,442 votes, or 50.4 percent. That's beyond the half-percent margin needed to trigger an automatic recount. A handful of overseas and military ballots remain outstanding, but under state law the decision for a recount is based on Saturday's count.

Murphy declared victory early Wednesday morning and has held his lead ever since, even as thousands of absentee and provisional ballots were processed. He issued a statement Saturday saying it was time to put the campaign behind. He called his win a signal that voters were tired of the extremism West represented.

West's campaign insists there are many unanswered questions in the race, mostly centered in St. Lucie County, the only one of three counties in the district that Murphy won. They are concerned that votes were counted twice and have asked to review sign-in books from the polls to ensure the number of voters matched the ballot count. "We're simply not going to just walk away from the race until we see that the numbers add up," West campaign manager Tim Edson said.

West's only path forward appears to be through the courts. Under state law, he still could contest the election if misconduct or fraud might have changed its result. "If I come out on the short end of the stick, guess what?" West told WPEC-TV on Friday. "I salute the flag, I wish you good luck and I continue on, and hopefully my replacement will be able to go up and contend with these monumental issues."

The race was the country's most expensive House race and one of the most closely watched. The two sides had raised nearly $21 million as of Oct. 17, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, and Super PACs poured in about $6.6 million.

West is a former Army lieutenant colonel who was elected in 2010 on a wave of tea party support. He is one of only two black Republicans in the House. He had a constant string of headline-grabbing statements, from calling a majority of congressional Democrats communists to saying President Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and others should "get the hell out of the United States."

Murphy, 29, was a political newcomer who portrayed West as an extremist who has done little else in Washington than stoke partisan fires.



Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2012/11/12/fla-gop-house-incumbent-allen-west-refuses-to-concede-defeat/#ixzz2C30EUVYO

[nathanm]

I wasn't trying to bash him though, it's simple math.  It's indisputable that fewer people voted this time around even though there's little doubt that the ranks of eligible voters hasn't shrunk since 2008.

How about we wait for all the ballots to be counted before declaring this election a turnout fail, eh? You might be interested to know that turnout is actually up in most of the swing states.

[Teatownclown]

I think Congress got more dims to vote for them than GOP/Teabaggers.

What's that translate into?

And as far as Obama's mandate....too bad sucka. He wields a lot of stroke and power.

[Conan71]

How about we wait for all the ballots to be counted before declaring this election a turnout fail, eh? You might be interested to know that turnout is actually up in most of the swing states.

From this point forward, I don't think you'd see even a million more which are not currently tabulated.

I didn't say it was a turnout fail, I'm just saying the numbers suggest enthusiasm for Obama wasn't near the magnitude it was in '08.

I think quite a few of his former supporters realized Hope & Change was nothing more than Hype & Chump Change